Christmas crafts are a wonderful way to engage with your children, make memories, and create new traditions. Crafts also boost kids’ creativity and fine motor skills. Plus, these projects often make festive decorations or gifts that can be enjoyed throughout the holiday. Below, we asked a variety of crafty bloggers to share inspiring Christmas crafts to try at home.
Glittery Paper Bag Star
This paper bag star project turns simple supplies into a beautiful, festive decoration, says talented painter and mother of three Katie Sevigny. In addition to making crafts and other art projects, she is also the owner of Sevigny Studio art galleries in Anchorage, Alaska, and Portland, Oregon. The project is Ideal for elementary-aged kids (or younger ones with more parent help). This Christmas craft lets kids work with two of their favorite supplies—glue and scissors. Additionally, they get to see how a little creativity and a bit of glitter can turn basic brown paper bags into gorgeous, festive stars.
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Santa Claus Paper Plate Craft
This adorable Santa Claus face craft will delight children young and old and is doable for kids age 3 and up. “Making crafts with my grandchildren is all about spending time together while making memories,” says crafter Patti Smith, a preschool teacher, grandmother of four, and the craft blogger behind Preschool Patti. Kids will love decorating Santa’s face and gluing on the pillowy cotton balls to make his beard. “I love crafting with children and witnessing their excitement as they create their own original artwork and develop critical thinking skills, fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination,” says Smith.
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Cardboard Christmas Cookie Ornaments
This festive craft, created by Kimberly McLeod of The Best Ideas for Kids, is recommended for ages 5 to 10. “Making your own Christmas ornaments is a fun activity you can do as a family,” says McLeod, a mother of two from Ontario, Canada. These cardboard Christmas cookie ornaments make lasting memories on your tree or can become cherished holiday gifts, too!
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Pinecone Christmas Trees
Chloe Duffy of chloe_duffy3 creates fun sensory play and craft projects for kids, including these gorgeous pinecone Christmas trees. This craft is ideal for children age 2 and up with a parent’s help and takes about 30 minutes including drying time. Kids will love the opportunity to decorate their very own tree in whatever way they see fit. “These mini Christmas tree pine cones make the perfect addition to small world play, tabletop decor, or Christmas tree ornament,” says Duffy, who lives in Aiken, South Carolina with her family.
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Paper Bag Gingerbread Houses
This fanciful gingerbread house project, which was shared by crafting master Cera Ruby, requires only a few, simple steps. Kids of all ages can participate in this project and preschoolers on up can do so mostly independently. “This easy brown paper lunch bag craft can be made two ways: Either with a white paint pen or with colorful construction paper,” explains Ruby. Ruby, who is a mother of four, creates kids’ crafts, sensory bins, and fun snack ideas on her Instagram rubybyrds. “We love doing crafts together, especially around the holidays,” says Ruby.
Instructions
- Fold the bottom of the paper lunch bag down.2. Cut out a wavy roof with scissors.3. Decorate the bag with a white paint pen or cut and glue construction paper to make doors, windows, and candy decorations. 4. Open the bag to stand up and display.
Holiday Nature Wands
Gina Gendron of aplayfilledlife shared this festive cardboard Christmas craft. These holiday nature wands are intended to be a simple, fun, and child-led project. “They are a way to connect to nature, use your imagination, and craft with simple materials,” says Gendron, a mother of three with a baby on the way who lives in Dallas, Texas. This craft is for ages 2 to 10 and should take about an hour to complete, including going on a nature walk to collect the materials. “It is about the process to me, not the product,” says Gendron. “I love observing how they take the materials and make it their own.”
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Christmas Light Jars
Kelly Sell, the crafter behind lion_and_bear, created this craft with help from her two boys, ages 2 and 4. This craft can be completed by little ones from 2 years on up, with supervision and support with the cutting, and independently from age 4 on up. Kids will enjoy creating these safe holiday “candles,” which will look beautiful placed anywhere around the house. “Creating DIY decorations is always a fun way to create a bit of festive cheer while keeping the little ones entertained,” says Sell.
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Paper Plate Christmas Tree
This fun and easy project by Christina Wiffen of the Early Education Zone is intended for children aged 3 to 5. “Children can create their own miniature Christmas tree with this simple craft idea for early learners,” says Wiffen, who lives in Sussex, England, and is the mom of a 7-year-old girl. “Christmas is a great time to get creative with early learners, there are so many symbols of Christmas that are easy to recreate in colorful, unique crafts,” says Wiffen. As an added bonus the required cutting, painting, and gluing are great ways to encourage concentration, creativity, and fine motor skills. “My daughter always loves helping to decorate the Christmas tree. This activity enabled her to create her own tree and decorate it exactly as she wanted,” says Wiffen.
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Christmas Tree Garland
This festive holiday garland is designed by crafter extraordinaire Audrey Burk of Our Days Outside. Intended for kids ages 4 to 12, this project is sure to get your family into the Christmas spirit. “I love making crafts using natural elements, and evergreen is one of my favorite materials to utilize around the holidays,” says Burk. “One thing my son and I love doing together is making crafts that we can decorate with later,” says Burk, who lives in Flint, Michigan. In addition to the joyful beauty of this craft, it also smells great due to the cedar twigs.
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Recycled Yarn Christmas Trees
This fun yarn-based Christmas tree craft, developed by Sally Hare of Raising Little Jess, can be adapted for all ages. Younger children may need help wrapping the trees in yarn, but can then decorate the tree independently. “Craft activities were always a big thing in our household growing up, so it was important to me to keep that tradition going when my daughter was born,” says Hare, who lives in Norfolk, England, and is the mother of 29-month-old Jessica. One bonus of this craft is that it uses materials that you’ll likely already have on hand, while also creating a beautiful finished product. “I wanted to create an activity where at least part of it utilized recycled materials, to minimize the cost to families and also be conscious of our planet,” says Hare.
Instructions
Paper Plate Christmas Tree Lacing
“Lacing yarn through holes is an excellent way to strengthen fine motor skills,” says Eliza Spingos of Learn Craft Grow, the creator of this fun activity. The project also teaches early sewing skills. Kids will enjoy watching their tree take shape as they lace the yarn through the holes. “This paper plate Christmas tree can be used to decorate the house for the holidays or can be given as a gift to a loved one,” says Spingos, who lives in Canada with her three children.
